The Exhibitor (1950)

NT-2 EXHIBITOR Hall Baetz, Denver district manager, Fox Intermountain, was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital after incurring several broken ribs when he was thrown from a horse. . . . M. R. ‘‘Bud” Austin, Eagle Lion branch manager, has been named as manager of the new Eagle Lion Classics exchange. L. E. Hobson, Film Classics manager, will announce his plans later. . . . B. A. Dixon has been made assistant manager, Gothic, Denver. Dixon had pre¬ viously resigned as city manager at Lamar, Colo., for the same company, because of ill health. Des Moines Church services at the Lakeland Drive-In on highway 71 north of Mil¬ ford, la. were started again this season. The services were held at 9 a.m. . . . H. S. Twedt has completed a remodeling of the Chief, Britt, la., with a new airconditioning system and fluorescent lighting. . . . The West, West Bend, la., has been sold to Robert Mueting, Ireton, la., and the house is undergoing redec¬ oration. Mueting’s brother, Adrian, oper¬ ates the Amuser, Fonda, la. . . . Doro¬ thy Kean, owner, Little, Panora, la., is constructing a Drive-In at Panora. . . . Walt Rasmussen has sold the Star, Anthon, la., to Cyril Schulte, St. Helena, Neb. ... A short circuit in the canopy of the Majestic at Dewitt, la., resulted in a small fire. . . . John Milmaier, booker for MGM, is the father of a new son, John Jacob, Jr. One of the bloodiest feuds in recent history is raging in the Tri-States Theatre Corporation circuit with the “Hatfield-McCoy” clans oiling their guns for a winner-take-all $25,000 reward pot. . . . The “Hatfields” and the “McCoys,” with 28 theatre managers on each side, are fighting for a free trip to Hollywood. . . . Playing leading roles in the feud are A. H. Blank, president of the circuit, who is “Hatfield” and G. Ralph Branton, general manager, who i s portraying “McCoy.” . . . The contest opened on June 1, and runs for 13 weeks with the end coming on September 2. . . . The circuit split its theatre managers into two groups with 28 managers on each side. The entire winning team of 28 managers and the winning district man¬ ager will get the week’s trip to Holly¬ wood while the losing team and district managers will get nothing. . . . The $25,000 reward is believed to be one of the largest prize awards for a circuit contest, and it is believed to be the first time such a large group of theatre man¬ agers will receive trips to Hollywood. . . . Both “Hatfield” Blank and “McCoy” Branton have entered into the spirit of the drive, and have their shooting arms well oiled in order to blast their clan to victory. Other company officers have received names such as Dale “Shot” McFarland, head booker, and Jimmy “Scatter-gun” Redmond, publicity direc¬ tor, with no-trespassing signs and ammunition piles posted in their offices. Kansas City Warner star Jane Wyman was in participating in the city’s 100th birthday anniversary celebration. Edwin W. Aaron, 20th Century Fox division manager, returned from Mil¬ waukee. . . . Mark Parks, Paramount, was on vacation in Texas. . . . Jack Braunagel, drive-in manager, Common¬ wealth Theatres, has been traveling in Arkansas in connection with opening up new drive-in situations. . . . Hall Walsh, Warner’s St. Louis branch man¬ ager, was a visitor. . . . Helen Dunnick, billing clerk, Warner’s was ill with pneumonia. . . . Harry Hamburg, Para¬ mount branch manager, and Mrs. Ham¬ burg left for New York to attend the graduation of their daughter from the Julliard School of Music. . . . Visitors on film row included; C A. Swiercinsky, Washington, Kans.; Bill Bradfield, Carthage, Mo.; Elmer Bills, Salisbury, Mo.; Ray Miner, Leroy, Kans.; and George Crooks, Browning, Mo. Los Angeles With the booking of MGM’s “Annie Get Your Gun” it was believed that a bidding wrangle over first-run MGM product for the Los Angeles area involv¬ ing United Artists Theatres had been temporarily cleared up. UAT’s Egyptian and Loew’s State both reopened. The cir¬ cuit had been engaged in a bidding war with other theatres. Milwaukee Ben Marcus, president, Wisconsin’s AITO, came up with another aid for exhibitors during the recent board of directors meeting. Calling it a sales pro¬ motion clinic arrangement, it is designed for the purpose of assisting members of the AITO in campaigns on pictures, which, up to this time, due to lack of facilities and finances, the individual independent has been unable to swing. Similar to circuit theatre advertising and exploitation departments, Wisconsin Allied members, upon completion of suc¬ cessful campaigns, agree to forward the gimmicks to the Allied office, where a committee in charge of this angle will prepare the brainstorms for forwarding to each individual member for local use. The recent strike of the projectionists left something of a bad taste in the mouths of many exhibitors. Saturday and Sunday newspaper ads said; “Closed Until Further Notice.” The circuits had arrived at an agreement with the pro¬ jectionists shortly after the first of the year. However, everything is back to normal again. First patient at the new Variety ClubMarquette University Heart Center was Jerry Parks, 13, a “blue baby.” Latest members added to the club’s roster in¬ clude: Meyer Kahn, George Edgerton, Morris Horwitz, James J. Packman, Roy W. Staub, Frederic Mendelson, and Dr. B. L. Chapman. Husbands of PTA leaders are rapidly entering the picture. Glowing tributes have been paid PTA folks for efforts put forth on movies. MGM’s go-gettin’ exploiteer, Louis W. Orlove, got himself named Hasteen Sash Yazzie, which, in the Navajo Indian tongue, means “Chief Little Bear.” . . . With both Jack Benny and Bob Hope appearing here recently in person at the new Arena, a few remarks were heard. Exhibitors just can’t stand for screen stars appearing anywhere but in a the¬ atre. Municipal buildings are for civic affairs, they maintain. The Wisconsin Distributing Company sponsored one of its famous cooking schools at the Fox-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wis. Admission was 35 cents, tax included, but the contest was the drawing card. . . . Those free tickets included in each can of Manley’s popcorn look like a good gimmick. Among the state towns push¬ ing the deal, are; Sheboygan, Sheboygan Falls, Plymouth, Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Green Bay, Manawa, Waupaca, Kaukauna, and Milwaukee. Minneapolis Morrie Steinman and Dick Stahl ac¬ quired equal financial interests in the North Star Exchange, it was announced by Julius Coller, owner. Coder has headed North Star for 20 years, but operation of the exchange will be handled jointly by Steinman and Stahl. . . . Lippert is the most important franchise handled by North Star, but the exchange also handles Masterpiece releases and other reissues, westerns, and novelties. Both Stahl and Steinman have been associated with the distribution field in the Twin Cities for many years. Stahl was most recently branch manager, Film Classics, and Steinman was at one time branch manager, Monogram. His most recent position was on the sales staff of Film Classics. Coder is also attorney of Shakopee, Minn., 18 miles southwest of Minneapolis, where he lives. Engineers are expected to start instading large screen television equipment in the 4,000-seat Radio City late in June, Harry French, president, Minnesota Amusement Company, said upon his return from New York. . . . William Elson, Minneapolis exhibitor, has been named field representative for Variety International in Minneapolis, Des Moines, Omaha, and Kansas City, according to an announcement by Marc Wolf, new Chief Barker. North Central Allied’s board of direc¬ tors will meet here late this month to formulate plans for a series of regional or “grass roots” meetings to be held during the late summer and early fad in key points in Minnesota and the Dakotas. These meetings will most likely be held in Duluth, Minn.; Fargo and New Rockford, N. D.; Sioux Fads, S. D., and a southern Minnesota spot. Arbitration, compulsory percentages, and forced buying will head the agenda of the regional meets, and showmanship will be thoroughly discussed. Rosemary Linde, general clerk, MGM, was vacationing in Michigan. . . . Alfred Kruse has named his new theatre at Lake Lillian, Minn., the Lake Side. . . . Frank G. Hallowed started construction of a drive-in at Dickinson, N. D., where he operates a year-around house. . . . Joe Johnson purchased the Family, North Branch, Minn., from Wayne Marx. Oklahoma City City Council approved a contract with the Associated Theatrical Agencies, Inc., for use of the Lincoln Park amphitheatre for 28 days. The group will present a June H, 1950